Yes, it's that time again when we're all beginning to buy Christmas presents for friends and family, but they'll be some of us wondering what to buy for staff too. Christmas gifts for staff are not just about the season though, they're about celebrating all that's been achieved throughout the year, showing appreciation for the efforts and talents of our teams and sending them off for the holidays feeling positive and valued.
Employee gifting, when done well, has been found to:
- Raise morale
- Help employees feel valued
- Boost productivity
- Demonstrate recognition of hard work/achievements
- Promote a positive work culture
- Encourage employee retention
What Makes A Good Employee Gift?
Gifting from an organisation cannot always be entirely personal but it should reflect the values and general culture of the company. For example, a publishing house may gift books or notebooks as it’s likely to employ avid readers, whereas tech companies may go for gadgets. Although your employee gifts do not have to relate to what you do, or even relate to work at all, it’s important to make sure they align with your values. For instance, an eco-friendly company giving single-use gifts to their employees would come across as inauthentic and may dampen relations with employees who were motivated by the organisation’s sustainability mission.
It’s also important to ensure that gifts for employees are not too expensive or too generic. Mostly, you’ll want whatever you gift to fill your staff with that warm fuzzy feeling of being cared for. That being, wellbeing gifts are ideal for workplace gifts at Christmas.
Here are some of our best staff wellbeing gifts:
Staff Wellbeing Gifts That Promote Winter Wellness
Christmas is supposed to be full of treats. Yet with so much to do, so much to plan for, so many deadlines to meet before the holidays and so many events to be present for, the festivities can become more of a burden. Especially in the winter months when our general wellbeing can be difficult to nurture.
Help your employees embrace the colder darker months by gifting them with warming gifts that promote winter wellness. These might include:
- Winter candles or a Christmas candle
- A hot water bottle
- Hot chocolate spoons or a hot chocolate gift box
- Bath Kubes or Bath Salts
- The Mood Cards For Work
- The Calm Coach (manual for wellbeing)
Not only is it good for your employees to have a rest and practise some self-care over the winter break, but it can make for a more productive and positive work environment in the New Year.
Check out our Winter Warmer Christmas Box or our Festive Treats Corporate Christmas Box for expertly put-together corporate wellbeing gifts for staff this Christmas season.
Little Luxuries For Staff Wellbeing
The holidays are the perfect time for your staff to rest and put their feet up so they’re ready and restored for the New Year. Since those feet are being put up though, they may as well be snuggled in 100% organic socks.
The simple pleasures are the most authentic and accessible. Little luxuries are about seeking out those creature comforts like socks, candles, bath products and chocolate, but opting for those extra special versions that most people wouldn’t buy for themselves, which is why they make great wellbeing gifts for staff.
Christmas is generally a busy holiday and there’s not always time for much rest, so when we’re able to take time out and relax for a few moments, it helps to do so with some little luxuries that fuel wellbeing.
Check out our Bamboo Socks
Check out our Scented Candles
Staff Wellbeing Gifts That Promote Positivity
Gifts will inevitably be associated with the giver, so selecting gifts that promote positivity can lead your employees to associate the workplace with that feel-
good factor. Staff wellbeing gifts that boost positivity are especially good for the festive period, which can be more challenging for some, and for January when we often experience a dip in mood. Unfortunately, it’s probably not appropriate to gift each of your employees an adorable puppy to bring forth the joy, but never fear - we have some great positivity-boosting wellbeing gifts for staff, including:
- Mood Cards or Affirmations
- The Positivity Planner
- Positivity Puzzle from John Lewis
- Humankind: A Hopeful History
- Mindful Message Jars
As uplifting as these gifts can be, nurturing longer-lasting techniques to encourage a more positive mindset is an even better reward, which is why a one-month subscription to a mindfulness or meditation app might be a great way to inspire your staff and help them form new healthy habits. This may even have a positive effect on productivity since happy employees tend to be more motivated.
At Out Of The Box though, we love a collection of gifts - especially those that are eco-friendly and promote positivity. So we created the Corporate Wellness Gift Box complete with bamboo socks, mood cards for work, Christmas pudding brownie bites, seed balls, The Happy News and Teapigs’ Happy Tea Bags. This is an uplifting, eco-friendly, gender-neutral Christmas gift box that is ideal for boosting positivity in your workplace.
Food And Drink Employee Gifts
Yes, Christmas is about family and gratitude and sharing and love but mostly, it’s about chocolate, right? Well, chocolate and other festive treats. This is why foodie Christmas gifts are always popular and why we relish selecting festive treats for our sustainable gift boxes.
Hampers are traditional, but for something more modern and eco-friendly, our Corporate Christmas Snack Boxes contain a number of inspired vegan-friendly festive treats and are a bit more unique too.